


All Different Names for the Same Thing

by afrocurl



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-03-08
Updated: 2007-03-08
Packaged: 2018-02-13 11:24:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2148945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Veronica's not happy at an 09er party.  What a shock?</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Different Names for the Same Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [](http://veni-veni-veni.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://veni-veni-veni.livejournal.com/)**veni_veni_veni** for the beta. At this point all mistakes are my own. Also--I know that the fic is ambiguous--it's meant to be so. Read and then judge.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked hesitantly.

He nodded his head before he placed his hand along the small of her back. “You’ll be fine,” he whispered. He pushed her towards the large French doors before them.

She stared wide-eyed at the doors and wondered if tonight wasn’t going to be completely exhausting.

He made a motion to knock, but his friend hastily opened the door, laughing as the party behind him roared.

“Dude—you made it! I didn’t think you’d show up.” The blonde patted his friend on the shoulder before looking down at the girl to his left.

“How are you tonight?” he asked with a sugary tone that didn’t suit him.

“Fine,” she replied icily. She gave him a warning glare before drawing her attention back to her boyfriend.

“Excellent! Now let’s get this party rockin’,” the host chimed before allowing the couple better access to the house. “Beer’s in the back. Everything else is by the kitchen.”

“What do you want to drink?” her boyfriend asked as they wandered from the foyer into the main part of the house.

“Nothing—I don’t trust anything from Dick, remember,” she commented as she huffed, looking out at the partiers making drunken asses of themselves around the large and opulent living room.

“Oh…right,” he said, understanding what she meant all too well. He headed towards the backyard, looking for the keg. She followed behind him, skulking as she went.

She decided to look around the party, trying to figure out how many people she knew tonight. Shelley, JP and Enbom were all over in a corner doing shots with each other.

Her ex-boyfriend was floating around the rest of the 09ers, trying to not look sullen and heartbroken. Some willowy girl was in close proximity, though he looked bored by her presence. She knew it was bad to constantly let her gaze wonder over to him, but something about him constantly made her long for those days-- _before_.

A minute later, her boyfriend arrived with a Solo cup full of beer. He held it in his right hand as his left possessively drew her into his side.

“We’ll only stay for an hour, tops. I promised to be here,” he told her quietly, trying not to let anyone else notice his discomfort in attending.

It was an understatement that the summer has been hard on the couple, or anyone else in Neptune, for that matter. She had spent weeks trying to juggle work, the hospital and her boyfriends.

The possibility of a _normal_ start to senior year appeared bright on the horizon, and she knew that this party was part of that process. Normal seniors got drunk with their friends before school officially started. Too bad, though, that Veronica never felt normal—not after Lilly.

Awkwardly standing around, Veronica felt even more out of place than usual. Eyes continued to follow her around after everything that happened, and despite her protests, she’d been instructed that coming to this party would start to smooth things over with the 09ers. It hadn’t worked. No one, aside from Dick, had come over to talk to her, and no one seemed interested in doing so either. This suited her just fine. She didn’t need to know how _amazing_ their summer in Cabo had been or how much Daddy spent on a new car. Her ex continued to float around the party, making sideways glances in her direction. Somehow she managed to catch her ex’s glares as her boyfriend squeezed her waist a bit harder or placed a kiss on her forehead.

The pair stood in a corner, watching the crowd grow more obnoxious. Shelley willingly let Enbom and JP take body shots off her; Madison stood nearby scoffing, all the while complaining about Dick’s inability to get decent liquor _again_.

After another forty-five minutes, she grabbed her boyfriend and dragged him out of the mansion. He mouthed goodbye to a few people as he was pulled out.

Once he unlocked the doors to his SUV, she quickly slid into the car, before drawing her arms over her chest in protest.

“That was not fun,” she whined.

“I’m sorry, babe, but I can’t help it. It’s going to be awkward for a while, still. We’ll just try to keep things a bit more low profile from now on.”

“That hasn’t worked for me in the past,” she sighed. Instead of looking at the boy to her left, she stared straight ahead as he drove her home.

When they finally arrived in front her of complex, he leaned over and chastely kissed her goodnight.

“Pick you up in the morning?” he asked.

“No, I have some work to do for Dad after school. I’ll meet you by my locker, though.” Slowly, she got out of the car, but left the door hanging open for a moment.

“Night,” he said across the car and into the chilly night air.

“Night, Duncan,” she replied softly.


End file.
